Charity care in Colorado: who gets free or discounted care
Colorado has a law that requires hospitals to give free or discounted care to people with income up to 250% of the federal poverty level.
Charity care means free or discounted care for people with low income. Hospitals also call it financial assistance.
Checked against official sources: October 30, 2026.
What the law says in Colorado
| Income (% of poverty level) | What you get | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Up to 250% | Discount | If your household income is at or below 250% of the federal poverty level, the hospital and the professionals who treated you may charge no more than the discounted rates set by the state, must let you pay in monthly installments capped by your income, and must treat the bill as paid in full after 36 months of payments. Hospitals may offer more help under their own financial assistance programs. |
These are the income levels written in the law. Each hospital decides using its own policy.
- The law
Hospital Discounted Care
Law: Health-Care Billing for Indigent Patients, HB 21-1198; C.R.S. 25.5-3-501 to 25.5-3-507; C.R.S. 10 CCR 2505-10 secs. 8.920-8.928
- Which hospitals
Licensed general hospitals, including for-profit hospitals; University of Colorado Hospital and Denver Health; licensed freestanding emergency rooms; hospital outpatient departments on or off campus (not federally qualified health centers); and, by name since July 1, 2026, critical access hospitals. Doctors and other licensed health care professionals who treat you in these facilities must also follow the rules.
- Who can get help
Colorado residents (you attest that you live in Colorado) with household income at or below 250% of the federal poverty level who received inpatient or outpatient hospital care. You can qualify with or without insurance and whatever your citizenship or immigration status. Hospitals must screen uninsured patients; insured patients must ask to be screened.
- Rural hospitals
Primary care at a clinic in a designated rural or frontier county that offers a state-approved sliding-fee scale is not covered by these rules.
- The most you can be charged
If you qualify, you can be charged no more than the discounted rate set each year by the Department of Health Care Policy and Financing (HCPF). The rates approximate, and are not less than, 100% of the Medicare rate or 100% of the Medicaid rate, whichever is greater. HCPF posts the rates online.
- Savings and other assets
Not allowed. The hospital may not count your assets, only household income.
- Who counts as your family
Your household must include your spouse or civil union partner. Anyone else living at your address may be included, and so may family members in other states or countries if you provide at least half of their support. Income of each household member 18 or older is counted. A minor is screened with the parents unless emancipated.
Law: C.R.S. 25.5-3-501 to 25.5-3-507; C.R.S. 10 CCR 2505-10 secs. 8.920-8.928
How to apply in Colorado
- Deadline to apply
State law sets no deadline for you to apply. An uninsured patient must be screened within 45 days of the date of service or discharge; an insured patient who asks must be screened within 45 days. You then have 45 days to send the documents the hospital asks for, and the hospital must decide within 21 days after it has everything.
- Screening for help
Hospitals and freestanding emergency rooms must screen every uninsured patient, unless you decline, for Medicaid (Health First Colorado), CHP+, Medicare, Emergency Medicaid and Hospital Discounted Care, and must screen insured patients who ask. You must be told your poverty-level percentage and, if you qualify, your maximum monthly payment.
Law: C.R.S. 25.5-3-502, 25.5-3-502.5 (as amended by SB 26-138); C.R.S. 10 CCR 2505-10 sec. 8.922; C.R.S. 25.5-3-501 to 25.5-3-507; C.R.S. 10 CCR 2505-10 secs. 8.920-8.928
- Applying for coverage first
A hospital may not deny Hospital Discounted Care because you did not apply for public benefits, unless the first screening found you presumptively eligible for Medicaid. Starting August 12, 2026, if the screening shows you are likely eligible for public coverage, applying for that coverage comes first until you are denied or 45 days after discharge, whichever is first; then the hospital must decide on the discount. It may not deny the discount only because you did not apply for public coverage.
- Notice you must get
Hospitals must post the state's patient-rights notice on their website in all required languages, have it in waiting areas, explain it to you before discharge in your preferred language, and say on every bill that you have the right to apply for discounted care.
Source: linked from the main page
- If you disagree
If you are found not eligible, you can appeal in writing to the hospital within 30 days of the decision letter; the hospital must answer within 15 days. If it keeps its decision, you can appeal to HCPF within 15 days, and HCPF decides within 15 days. You can also appeal a payment plan you believe was based on wrong income.
- Refunds
If you are later found to qualify (or your bill should have been covered by a public program), the hospital must refund what you paid above the discounted amount, have negative credit reports deleted, and ask the court to vacate or reduce any judgment.
- Other providers
Doctors and other licensed professionals who treat you in a covered hospital or freestanding emergency room must also charge no more than the discounted rate and offer a payment plan of no more than 2% of your monthly household income on each professional's bill.
Law: C.R.S. 25.5-3-501 to 25.5-3-507; C.R.S. 10 CCR 2505-10 secs. 8.920-8.928
Check your income level
Find out what percent of the federal poverty level your household income is, and compare it with the income levels in Colorado law.
Free tools, letters and checklist
Where to complain in Colorado
- Hospital bills and financial assistance: Department of Health Care Policy and Financing (HCPF), Hospital Discounted Care · 303-866-2580
A hospital or professional did not screen you, charged more than the discounted rate, did not offer a proper payment plan, did not give you the patient-rights notice, or sent your bill to collections without the required steps. - Health insurance: Colorado Division of Insurance, Consumer Services · 303-894-7490
A surprise out-of-network bill, an ambulance bill under a state-regulated plan, or another problem with health insurance regulated by the state. - Debt collectors: Colorado Attorney General, Consumer Credit Unit
A collection agency or debt collector broke Colorado collection rules, for example on medical debt credit reporting, itemized statements or interest. - Medicaid: Health First Colorado (Colorado Medicaid) · 1-800-221-3943
Questions about applying for Medicaid or CHP+, which can cover hospital bills.
Questions about medical bills in Colorado
Does Colorado require hospitals to give free or discounted care?
Colorado has a law that requires hospitals to give free or discounted care to people with income up to 250% of the federal poverty level.
Who counts as family for charity care in Colorado?
Your household must include your spouse or civil union partner. Anyone else living at your address may be included, and so may family members in other states or countries if you provide at least half of their support.